Zamarrillas

A haunting place lost in the Llanos de Caceres, a collection of buildings which represent the story of Extremadura since the reconquista in the middle of the 13th century. Now completely uninhabited except for the thriving stork colony with nests on the towers and crumbling walls of the ruins. We had a fascinating walk around the whole area which is set in an emblematic Extremadura landscape.

Known as Heredamiento y Prado de Zamarrillas, the earliest building is a casa fuerte, a fortified house, built on a small eminence, la casa fuerte de los Duranes.

These casa fuertes were built in the first years after the reconquista. The Christians from the north had finally re conquered this part of Spain after six centuries of Moorish settlement but  the Moors were still very much in evidence further south, the conquest of Granada took a further 250 years so the casas fuertes were a symbols of power with caution, scattered across Extremadura, safe refuges on journeys between the larger towns and guarding against possible Moorish attack or cattle raids.

Towns such as Caceres, Trujillo and Merida did not start to develop beyond their walls until the beginning of the 16th century when there was a surge of development fuelled by the riches brought back by the conquistadors of Extremadura from the new world, mainly Peru and Mexico. The newly ennobled conquistadors built palaces and endowed churches, convents and monasteries.

 In Zamarrillas the Casa Grande palace was built in the 16th century by the Ovando family with their coat of arms still in place. 

All through the centuries the rich pasture land and abundant water supply from the Salor river would have been used for raising sheep and cattle, particularly sheep, the wool trade of Extremadura made many fortunes. The barns and outbuildings of the herdade were used for storage, wool shearing and housing the farm workers, there are documents recording up to 200 people living and working on the estate at its peak. 

It seems that by the 18th century the farm was declining, perhaps split into too many parts by inheritance, lack of workers or it was even suggested it was stricken by a plague of termites.

The ruin brought by neglect and time was completed at the beginning of the 19th century in the war of independence or the peninsular wars when the herdade was invaded by French troops who destroyed much of what was left leaving the buildings open to the elements. 

Some renovation has taken place in recent years, re-roofing some buildings and maintenance of the dam which has created an idyllic lake behind the casa fuerte. 

We spoke to a shepherd who was grazing his flock near the lake, he said that the land and property was owned by many different owners, some unknown and unrecorded making it difficult to carry out any cohesive renovation project. 

Unfortunately the most ruined building is the church. It was once known as Nuestra Senora de la Esclarecida, a Romanesque structure from the 14th century with a hexagonal apse and remains of a pillared portico.

The image of the virgin and child once housed here was fortunately saved from destruction by Napoleonic troops and can now be seen in Caceres at the Church of Santiago de los Caballeros, although much damaged by time it is probably one of the oldest images of the virgin in Extremadura. Nowadays the church has long been used as a barn for animals and at one time a mechanical grain mill, part of the machinery still exists in a lean-to shed, difficult to imagine the devout congregation of Zamarrillas praying here under the calm gaze of the virgin and child.

GRANADILLA - A TRAGEDY WITH A HAPPY ENDING

The remote village of Granadilla, north west of Plasencia has a unique format made by the 9th century Moorish walls which completely surround the 250 dwellings in a circular form. The streets of the village radiate from a central plaza. It was a stopping place on the Via de la Plata with mule trains and carts crossing the River Alagón on the ancient bridge.



The Christian reconquest reclaimed this part of Extremadura in the middle of the 13th century and in 1473 the Duques de Alba built the substantial fortified tower which forms part of the walls next to the main portal. For centuries the remote village survived within the walls, unusually never extending beyond except for some scattered barns. The villagers supported themselves by working their extensive lands down in the valley of the Alagón river, olives, crops and lifestock, fish from the river and hunting the prolific game in the surrounding forests, within the walls were lush vegetable gardens and fruit orchards. By the beginning of the 20th century there was an infant school, a visiting doctor and the post arrived at the river crossing bridge, a bar-café was established in the plaza, the church remained the social centre with many religious fiestas throughout the year. As in many Extremeno villages modernity never arrived, no electricity, piped water, sewage disposal but life went on until a fateful day in 1955 when the village was doomed to extinction.

The Franco government initiated plans for creating a huge reservoir in the fertile Alagón river valley below the village. The land, 4683 hectares, was forcibly expropriated by the government, it was the livlihood of the village, without the land it was difficult for the villagers to survive and most of them had to move away. The work on the dam started and was completed in 1961, the future embalse was named Gabriele y Galán after the poet. The valley was slowly inundated covering the old cementary and also the bridge over the Alagón river, the only access to the village.


In 1965 the houses of the village were also expropriated, the engineers in charge of the project calculated that the village was in danger of being drowned by the rising waters of the lake. This seems odd as the village sits on a high bluff and it would be impossible for the lake waters to rise to this height, in fact there has never been even a remote threat, the waters of the reservoir have remained far below the village. The government had agreed to compensate each owner by paying the value of their property only, not any compensation for the destruction of their whole lives. Unbelievably these payments were not made until 1972 , very late and very badly. However, because of this bizarre enforced abandonment, the village avoided any future encroachments of the modern world and was preserved as it was in the 1950s, a sad relic, a folorn ghostly place slowly decaying as the villagers departed, sadly deprived of their homes and the fertile valley where they had cultivated the land for centuries.


In 1980 after 15 years of total abandonment the village was declared as a Conjunto Historico- Artistico, rather late in the day and somewhat cynically, what a pity this hadn’t happened to benefit the needlessly exiled villagers.



In 1985 Grandilla was chosen by the Ministeries of Public Works, Agricultura and Education to be adopted by the association, Programa de Recuperación y Utilización Educativa de Pueblos Abandonados (PRUEPA)

http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/ceneam/programas-de-educacion-ambiental/pueblos-abandonados/

The programme is for the benefit of young students from all over Spain. They stay for a week or two to learn about country life and skills, also helping with the recuperation of the buildings, vegetable gardens, orchards, animal husbandry including chickens, goats, cows and horses.I was amused by a group of girls being directed by one of the "monitores", they were in a meadow with very elaborate chicken coops, the chickens had been free ranging in a large area with bushes and trees but it was time to get them back in the coops, the girls were sent to the boundaries of the meadow and started to clap and scrabble in the undergrowth to flush out the chickens, they slowly advanced clapping away, it was all so jolly and they were having fun, good to see kids not umbilically attached to their mobiles. There were bread making and various country skill workshops going on in one of the renovated buildings, the kids looked happy and relaxed and why not? A great experience for them.






The programme started in Granadilla in 1990 and since then much good work has been done especially with the beautifully tended gardens, many of the houses have been renovated and put to use as accommodation and social areas for the on- going student incentive.












Many of the original owners of the houses have now died or heirs have disappeared, since the village was not drowned and has survived it seems unfair that the ex-villagers and their heirs should not have some priviledges, in fact they are allowed to celebrate some religious fiestas and I beleive there is still a group of original owners who are allowed to live in the village at some times of the year but to come back and live there on a permanent basis would be problematic. There are strict rules about the running of the village, admirable for the visitor but difficult for everyday living e.g. no cars are allowed to enter the only gate in the surrounding walls but must park outside the walls, the agriculture is strictly ecological, there are limited times for visiting, a bell is tolled to indicate when the gate will be locked, there is not a single social meeting point, shop, bar or café. Granadilla is an enchanting sanctuary of peace and beautifully organized agriculture but it is not a living village anymore.

We enjoyed the visit, an interesting and poignant experience, maybe there are a few ghosts wandering around the cobbled streets with now renovated houses painted in vivid colours as was traditional for this area.





We particularly enjoyed the walk encircling the village on the Moorish wall, looking down into the carefully tended gardens and animal pens, vistas of the lake and mountains, the vast water area the very reason for the sad recent history but now certainly giving the village a spectacular location on its peninsular surrounded by an endless forest of pine woods replanted to replace the disastrous Eucalyptus plantations of Franco’s era. The castle tower has a viewing platform with even more panoramic views towards Los Gredos and the Sierra de Francia.






Outside the stunning circular wall there are endless walks around the lake or into the pine forest, we ate our picnic in the cool shade near the water, tranquility for reflecting on the fate of Granadilla and it’s present day destiny.







Don't forget the opening times!

TUNISIA - Part I: Tunis, The Bardo, Bizerte, Bulla Regia

OUR ROUTE: NAVIGATE WITH+ AND- OR HAND SYMBOL

Tunis is probably the worse introduction to Tunisia. It’s a dystopian nightmare, dirty, unbelievably, nerve jangling noisy, razor wire still lying in huge rolls along the main avenues since 2011, one is forced off the pavement and into the very scary traffic. The medina is an area of relative peace with some beautifully restored old houses, islands of tranquility in the chaos.

 The souks were a disappointment with very few shops selling traditional, Tunisian work but put me in a souk anywhere and I will delve around determined to spend some dinars or dirhams or lira. We bought a felt skullcap for Manfred, a variation of a fez but called a chéchia,there is a special area  of the souk for these which are still made in small workshops. 

hammam towels, spices, silver rings, baggy white pants, several pairs of babouche, a chicha pipe with lots of aromatic tobacco and charcoal discs, incense, some plain cotton djellabas is apposed to wildly flamboyant polyester numbers….oh and a new suitcase on rollers to pack the plunder (I swore never to go around with a bag on wheels but am now convinced). 

A battered but beautiful traditional bird cage on a roof terrace with view of medina

minaret of the Al-Zaytuna mosque

There are some gems hidden away in the medina and even the immediate area around the Bab ek Bahr, known as the Porte de France, is interesting with the old colonial consulates of Britain and France and a dilapidated old hotel where we stayed, Grande Hotel de France, in fact the hotel where Edward Rae stayed in 1877 whilst on his travels, his account "The country of the Moors" is a fascinating insight into Tunisia at that time, not too many echoes left nowadays…..or maybe there are? 

The Grande Hotel de France proudly announces........

There were many aspects of the medina and souks to admire, after all it is a UNESCO world heritage site; the old cafés are atmospheric with men popping in for a quick puff on the chichas (water pipes), mint tea and sticky pastries.

 The ancient doors are beautiful, painted in strong colours and intricately studded.

The architecture of the souks is marvellous, vaulted ceilings, wonderfully worn old paving slabs. 

The different streets still retain their names denoting which activity and trade went on there, leather, cloth, perfume, wood, metal, gold, gems, the more precious trades such as gold and gem craftsmen were clustered around the mosque with more lowly trades, blacksmith, dyers at greater distance.

The mosques have very decorative minarets unlike the austere towers of Morocco. 

Naturally we were not allowed to enter any mosques but the Al-Zaytuna (olive tree) mosque could be viewed from a balcony in the mornings. It was built in 703 using many architectural elements salvaged from the ruins of Carthage. 

Not too lucky with food, street food is good but restaurants seemed to be closed in the medina in the evening and we couldn’t face trawling around the modern town. Wine was a distant dream, not served in any cafés or bars or regular eating places….not like Morocco where there is always a hotel bar in the bigger towns and some shops sell the excellent wine. We did eventually track down a supermarket that sold wine after asking the hotel reception and getting quite a disapproving look, we were led through long passages down to a sort of dungeon where there were some dusty bottles of red wine which were handed over very firmly wrapped up……….we felt like criminals sitting closeted in our room with a picnic and our illicit substance. 

One of the highlights of the stay in Tunis was the visit to the Bardo museum housed in the old Bardo palace some way out of the centre, there is a metro line directly there but we decided to get a taxi, unlucky to get a totally deranged taxi driver, got the metro back! http://www.bardomuseum.tn/  

The Bardo!  I had been waiting to visit for a long time and it was certainly

splendid. The original palace from the 18^th and 19^th century, the last palace of the  ousted Beys, now has a fantastic new wing added so there were two very different atmospheres as one walked around. The curating is impeccable, a walk through wonders.

A unique portrait of Virgil. Cartoon labyrinth with Theseus chopping off head  and other bits of very human minotaur

Fabulous collections from all the civilizations that have existed in this part of North Africa but the mosaics are simply spectacular.

A late Roman mosaic showing farm activities, olive harvest etc.  c. 300 a.d. 

It was time to hire a car and get the hell out of there. But we couldn’t because it was May 1^st next day and we hadn’t realized that it would be a national holiday, also all the car hire agencies mentioned by Rough Guide had closed down after, 2011 even Avis. We were desperate to get out Tunis so got the bus to Bizerte where we were assured we would be able to hire a car. Bizerte on the North coast and the journey was through lush green countryside and lots of lakes. The town has a great situation with deep inlet from the sea into the old port which has the Kasbah on one side and lots of cafés and restaurants along the quays. 

We sat down at a table and ordered some grilled fish and salad, ages later it was explained that we would have to go to the fish market and buy the fish first………aaaah! We did that and came back loaded with far too much, it was all so fresh and tempting, straight on the grill and very delicious………..still dying for a glass of wine, just not possible.

Finally under our own steam, no more terror taxi rides or slow bus journeys. Headed South and didn’t see much to detain us on the way. Went through an eerie ex-colonial ski resort in the Jabal ad Darayn mountains with huge old abandoned hotels glowering from overgrow heights, mouldering away since the 60s, no doubt scenes of scandal and vice among the petit bourgeois bureaucracy of colonial times.

We stopped at Bullia Regia and important Roman site.

I love the two chubby cherubs holding necessary objects for vain Venus, a mirror and a jewel box. Amazing mosaics in the middle of nowhere , quite wonderful that they have survived.

The unique domus architecture was developed in the city. A ground level storey open to the warming winter sun stood above  a subterranean level, both built around a two storey atrium. The lower chamber was a cool retreat in the baking heat of summer.Bottle shaped terracotta shapes were built into the vaulted roof, water sprinkled through these brought out the stunning colours of the mosaics and cooled the chambers by evaporation.
Some great mosaics were still in situ, rare as the Bardo seems to have requisitioned most throughout Tunisia.

The site was minimally  maintained which didn’t detract from the  fascination as one stumbled over ancient masonry and overgrown paths grazed by goats and sheep. A strong spring and well still feeds the stream that runs through the site, no doubt the reason for its foundation by the Berbers and later development as a Punic outpost. It was conquered by the Romans in 203 B.C. when the unique nature of its architecture encouraged more development. After a slow decay it was finally destroyed by an earthquake which caused many of the ground level buildings to collapse into the lower levels.  It was only in 1906 that excavations started and the underground chambers and their mosaics were discovered.